Analytical Model for Message Propagation in Delay Tolerant Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks

In this paper, we present an analytical model for delay tolerant message propagation in a dynamic vehicular network. The analysis provides upper and lower bounds for message propagation as function of traffic density, vehicle speed and radio range. The model is an extension of previous work which considered a particular network setting. The results from the analytical model are compared with simulation results for various vehicular traffic densities. The work demonstrates that increased mobility of vehicles actually aids in messaging contrary to the expectation that it would be a hindrance due to frequent topology changes. An increase in vehicle speed from 0 m/s to 20 m/s results in a corresponding increase in message propagation rate of 200 m/s for vehicular density of 25 vehicles/km.